"Out-to-Eat" Adventures

So Casey and I have ventured out recently and tried a couple of different restaurants. And let's just say that it truly has been a bit adventurous! I will forever have a greater sympathy for those who don't know English back in America! Holy cow. Doing even the simplest of things here is quite the task, like ordering. It's fantastic that most restaurants have at least some pictures in their menus for the gaijin's needs.

First, we went out for a bike ride one Friday night and ended up on this little road off of main street. We saw a restaurant and decided to give it a try. We followed the hostess to our table, which happened to be up a couple of steps onto a carpeted area. We saw that we needed to remove our shoes (a huge cultural custom here) before coming up to our table. I was unsure if I was supposed to wear some slippers that were sitting by the shoes (as some areas have slippers for individuals, whether entering a certain area or going into a bathroom. This whole idea of communal slippers grosses me out, but that's besides the point, isn't it?) I did some sort of pantomime to ask the woman, who assured me (through some pantomiming of her own) that it wasn't necessary.

We were seated in this little alcove area for just our table. It faced the kitchen, so we were able to watch the cooks make the food over fire. We could see other guests who were in similar closed-off areas that surrounded the food preparation area. After extensive study of the menu, we decided to take a chance on some pasta, sushi, and edamame.

The pasta turned out to be fishy-flavored, which would usually be a deal-breaker for me (but not unexpected here, obviously.) It had some sort of pink goo on it (appetizing!) But I ended up loving it. And surprisingly, the adventurous Casey hated it. But his sushi was "Umtumgola!" (That one's for you, David!) He seriously loves sushi here, as the fish melts in your mouth, according to him. And the edamame was good, but they seem to eat it cold here, which is not nearly as amazing as hot.

Our second restaurant experience was just a couple of nights ago. Our friends watch Bridger while we went on a much-needed date. We ended up at a Japanese bbq, called a Yakiniku. Basically, you order a tray of raw meat and cook it yourself in a covered grill in the center of your table. We sat on the ground and everything in true Japanese style. We ate our pork, beef, and chicken with different sauces over rice. It was seriously amazing. And our waitress spoke some English, bless her heart! Unfortunately, we forgot our trusty camera on this outing. But here's a pic I found online to show you what it's like.

Taken from: http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showthread.php?t=326079&page=5